Restoration Begins with Confession
"But now, O our God, what can we say after this? For we
have disregarded the commands" - Ezra 9:10
In 1977, New York's Citicorp tower was completed. The
59-story building was hailed for its technical elegance and
singular grace. The structural engineer who designed the
steel superstructure was William J. LeMessurier. A year
after the building opened, LeMessurier came to a frightening
realization. The Citicorp tower was flawed. Without his
approval, during construction the joints in the steel
superstructure had been bolted, a common and acceptable
practice, but does not make for as strong a joint as welding
does. What made that a critical problem, though, was that in
LeMessurier's calculations he had not taken into account the
extra force of a nonperpendicular wind.
He now calculated that a wind strong enough to buckle a
crucial bolted joint came every sixteen years in New York
City. LeMessurier weighed his options. If he blew the
whistle on himself, he faced potential lawsuits, probable
bankruptcy, and professional disgrace. But lives were at
stake. So he did what he had to do. He informed all
concerned. After informing city and corporate leaders, the
critical welds were made within three months at the cost of
millions of dollars. LeMessurier's career and reputation
were not destroyed but enhanced. A fellow engineer commended
LeMessurier's courage to say, "I got a problem; I made the
problem; let's fix the problem."
Sin is a deadly problem. It can't be covered-up; it has to
be owned up. Is there sin in your life? Today in prayer,
confess any sin in your life to the Lord and know that it
will restore your relationship with Him.
"It does not spoil your happiness to confess your sin. The
unhappiness is in not making the confession." - Charles H.
Spurgeon
God's Word: "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but
whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." -
Proverbs 28:13
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2002, Devotional E-Mail
DEVOTIONS IN EZRA, NEHEMIAH, AND ESTHER
pkennedy@devotional.com